Women
Jonathan Sobota
Blacknall Women in Healthcare

Women in healthcare professions often face unique challenges. Providing skilled care with compassion while managing demanding hours requires significant emotional labor and often leads to spiritual stress. There are also many rewarding and fulfilling experiences and lessons learned that can be shared. We warmly invite women in all areas of healthcare to join us for fellowship and conversations, to share wisdom, triumphs, and challenges.

General
Jonathan Sobota
Blacknall Survey of Service Engagement

Blacknall's Durham Ministry Engagement Team (DMET) is conducting a community service survey this year, running from January 12-31. Your responses will assist DMET and the Session in organizing our resources to serve our neighbors in Durham. The poll will also inform how DMET supports people at Blacknall who are interested in new service opportunities in Durham.

General
Jonathan Sobota
Sunday School Spring Semester

The Sunday School class schedule and descriptions for the spring semester are now available.

Adult classes will cover a variety of ongoing and new topics. You can jump right into any of these classes, even if you did not attend the prior semester of an ongoing study. There is no reason to hesitate, please come!

General
Jonathan Sobota
Inquirers & New Members Weekend February ...

Want to know more about Blacknall and what it means to be a member? Join us for our next Inquirers and New Members Weekend, Saturday morning, February 15, and Sunday afternoon and evening, February 16. Visit the registration page to sign up and see more details.

General
Jonathan Sobota
Blacknall Survey of Service Engagement Coming ...

Be on the lookout for an opportunity to share how you and your household are engaged in community service. The survey will assist Blacknall’s Durham Ministry Engagement Team and inform how DMET might provide better onramps for people at Blacknall who are interested in service opportunities in Durham.

Congo Day of Prayer

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Saturday, December 22

As a congregation we are invited to pray and fast in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Congo (DRC) on the eve of their national elections. Please pray that the elections will be peaceful, fair, and just and that God would raise up godly leaders who would do what is right. We would like to have people signed up to pray every hour on December 22.

Sign up here to pray.

Items for prayer:

  • Pray for the presidential election on Dec. 23.  Pray that it would be peaceful and fair. 

  • Pray that leaders would emerge who will serve the people of Congo and not their own greed or power. Read this news link.

  • Pray for political, social, and economic stability throughout the country.

  • Pray for the Ebola crisis to be contained quickly and for protection for the health workers.  Read this news link.

  • Pray for continued violence particularly against the most vulnerable in Beni and neighboring town of Oicha (David Kasali’s hometown). Read this news link.

  • Pray for UCBC’s “City Campus” project - UCBC has moved the campus into Beni to provide a secure environment for their students. School officially began on November 26 with only a 10% decrease in enrollment.

  • Pray for the students at UCBC, for their safety and pray that they would have a Kingdom impact on Beni.

  • Pray for the Bethesda Counseling Center as they provide counseling for health workers and others who are victims of trauma. Pray for Noe Kasali as he leads this ministry while being dislocated in Uganda.

Advent in the Home: Developing Family Traditions

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Blacknall held an event last year for families to share simple Advent traditions they had incorporated into their family life. A key tip was to hold it loosely – it’s ok if you miss a day! – and to make it a part of your daily rhythm. Reading a devotion after dinner, opening the Advent Calendar door, or lighting a candle are all ways to signal the season of Advent as we head towards the mystery of Christmas.

Below are ideas to get you started. Consider picking one or two that might fold easily into your life.

Advent Calendar

  • DIY – Paper or muslin bags can be filled with small tokens or activities (ex. Go to Carols and Cocoa, Write a thank you note, Sing a hymn after dinner). The bags can be taped to the wall or strung up with string and clothespins.

  • Buy – A re-usable or paper calendar can provide a way for children to interact daily with the season.

Advent Books

  • DIY – Consider giving a daily book about Christmas. These don’t have to be new! Check them out from your local library (or Blacknall’s library – view a list of great suggestions here) and wrap them up in fabric, recycled grocery bags, or inexpensive paper from the Scrap Exchange.

  • Buy – Some families purchase books and re-use the same ones each year. If you do want to purchase books, here are a few recommendations.

Advent Prayer Guide

  • “Teach Us to Pray: Scripture-Centered Family Worship through the Year” put out by the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship. The Advent section is available for free download.

Advent Prophecy Chain

Advent Wreath 

Jesus Storybook Advent Printables

Jesse Tree – ornaments and templates can be found online.

  • DIY

    • Make a tree out of construction paper and tape it up on the wall. Children can color ornaments and hang them up daily (you can find printable ornaments online).

    • DIY ornaments for the tree.

    •  If you’re crafty, Blacknall often has a group that does a Jesse tree ornament exchange in November.

    • Forage for a small tree branch, place in a vase, and hang your Jesse tree ornaments from it.

  • Buy – There are many great ornament kits, especially on Etsy, although they can get quite expensive. Here are a few:

Advent Wreath Workshop

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Sunday, December 2, 4-6 p.m. | Community Room

Register here

This year we will assemble the wreaths in one-hour shifts. Bring $15.00 for your kit (candles, oasis wreath ring, etc) and a cookie sheet to transport your wreath. Cash or check made out to BMPC is fine. If you have access to greenery or holly berries, bring some in bag to use and share.  Clippers are helpful. This is an event for all ages and stages.

November Newsletter

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View the newsletter here

In this month’s edition:

  • Pastor’s letter from Allan Poole on cultivating gratitude in a culture of critics.

  • Holiday Hospitality opportunities with International Students, Inc.

  • “A Mother-in-law’s Prayer” - Ali Shoenfelt’s journey from a teenager who had angrily walked away from God after losing her father, to a woman who seeks our Father’s voice and tries to follow him.

  • “Passing the Peas with Jesus” - A glimpse into Noreen Naiman’s thoughts on a Tuesday as she prepares dinner for Pass the Peas with Reality Ministries.

  • Upcoming special mission offering for homelessness.

  • Update from session on the new parental leave policy and Future Vision Fund allocations.

Marriage Course Party

Thursday, Nov. 15, 6-8:30 p.m., Blacknall Fellowship Hall (1902 Perry St., Durham)

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Interested?

Click here to learn more about the course.

Enjoy a delicious dinner, learn how to build a strong marriage, and hear from couples who have taken the Marriage Course. Blacknall’s next course will be offered Thursdays, Jan. 17- March 7, 2019, those interested may sign up at the party.

Have friends who could benefit? Invite them for a course preview- they do not need to attend Blacknall. Engaged, co-habiting, co-parenting, and separated couples are all welcome to take the course.

RSVP here by Tuesday, Nov. 13.

Questions? Contact Ali Shoenfelt (ali@blacknall.org).

Urbana Conference Scholarship

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December 27-31, 2018 | St. Louis, MO

Conference Registration

Scholarship Application

Blacknall offers tuition scholarships to all members/attenders who apply to attend Urbana Mission Conference. Special consideration is given to seniors in High School or students attending colleges away from Durham.

Blacknall is also offering scholarships to students interested in a short term 1-2 month mission next summer. For more information, contact David Dunderdale.

Hurricane Relief

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Providing Needed Items

Our friends at Walltown Neighborhood Ministries have invited us to join them in reaching out to victims of Hurricane Florence and needy families locally here in Durham. Please pick up a form from the Lower Atrium for one of our “neighbors” and their specific need. We are asked to contribute the following items to be collected by Saturday, Oct. 27. Bring your boxed and labeled items to Blacknall by Thursday, Oct. 25, and we will deliver them to St. John’s.

Items:

  • Case of Bottled Water

  • Cleaning Supplies: 5-gallon bucket from Home Depot and Clorox, gloves, Pine-Sol, Windex, sponges, Mr. Clean sponges, paper towels, gloves, duct tape, face masks, trash bags, insect repellent, disinfectant wipes, and rubber gloves.

  • Christmas Gift Cards for Children and Disabled Seniors: Visa, Wal-Mart, Costco, Sam’s Club, Target and Sears

  • Personal Items: lotion, soap, hand sanitizer, toothbrush, toothpaste, mouthwash, deodorant, razors, shaving cream, isopropyl alcohol, Vaseline, shampoo, conditioner, washcloths, towels

  • Food & Supplies Gift Cards: Wal-Mart, Lowe’s, Home Depot, Dollar Tree, Food Lion, Costco, or Sam’s Club

Please label all boxes (example: Female Teen Care Package and Christmas Gift card) and include a note of encouragement.

Repairing Homes

Blacknall is joining with Cape Fear Habitat for Humanity on Saturday November 3 to "muck out" houses damaged by the hurricane(s). We will carpool, leaving Blacknall around 5:30 a.m., work 8-2 p.m., and then drive home. Sign up here. Can't go Nov. 3? Grab your small group, Sunday school, or just a couple friends and pick another day to go. Sign up here.  Contact: Rick Copland or Bob Leslie.